The National Football League (NFL) has confirmed that Bad Bunny will remain the headline performer for the upcoming Super Bowl halftime show, despite public criticism of the decision.
Speaking at the NFL’s fall meeting ahead of Super Bowl LX, scheduled for February 8 in Santa Clara, California, Commissioner Roger Goodell defended the league’s choice.
“He’s one of the leading and most popular entertainers in the world,” Goodell said. “That’s what we try to achieve.”
Bad Bunny, whose real name is Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, is a Puerto Rican artist known for his Spanish-language hits. Since 2019, he has ranked among Spotify’s top five most-streamed artists each year, holding the top spot in 2020, 2021, and 2022.
Goodell acknowledged that public reaction to halftime performers is often divided. “I’m not sure we’ve ever selected an artist where we didn’t have some blowback or criticism,” he said. “It’s pretty hard to do when you have literally hundreds of millions of people that are watching.”
The selection drew political commentary after former President Donald Trump described the choice as “absolutely ridiculous” during an interview on Newsmax, while admitting he was unfamiliar with the artist.
In 2022, Bad Bunny recorded 18.5 billion streams on Spotify and was the second-most streamed artist globally in 2023, ranking third last year. He currently has over 100 million Spotify followers, the ninth-highest on the platform.
“We’re confident it’s going to be a great show,” Goodell said. “He understands the platform that he’s on, and I think it’s going to be exciting and a united moment.”
Faridah Abdulkadiri
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